Lord_k's Article – July 2011 Archive (17)

Fast transatlantic mail and diesel engine... Do they go together? You bet!

From the foundation of the company in 1933 until World War II, the most important aircraft built by Blohm und Voss was the Ha 139, two of which - the Nordmeer and Nordwind - were delivered to Deutsche Luft Hansa in 1937. Today, the Saturday Air Mail is proud to present the…

A rare and extremely beautiful body style which has much in common with a boat. Actually, it is a boat on wheels but not an amphibian.

Skiff bodies with their high-quality finish rivaling with that of the yachts are closely associated with the name of one of the finest French coachbuilders. As early as 1858, Jean-Baptiste Labourdette started making horse drawn carriages and by 1907 his grandson Jean-Henri had taken the company to the next level. In 1912, Labourdette…

Today, beautiful streamliners of the Reading Company:

The Reading inaugurated the Crusader on December 13, 1937 - a five-car trainset. Budd cars were built from stainless steel, with with a round-end observation car at each end of the streamliner. The Crusader operated between Jersey City and Philadelphia on a twice-daily round trip schedule.…

October 1934. MacRobertson Air Race.

Flight Lieutenant Charles William Anderson Scott pointing out the finer points of one of Comet G-ACSS Gipsy Six engines and Ratier propellers to Edward Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) on 19th October 1934, the day before the 1934 MacRobertson Air Race started (Flight Image Archive)

The race was organised by the Royal Aero…

Probably the best steam-powered car ever. Luxurious. Fast. Fuel-efficient. Terribly expensive. Extremely rare.

The Doble steamers of the 1920's were almost miracles of precision, workmanship, performance, reliability and power. They simply ran away from the best of the competition -- Cadillac's, Lincoln's, Packard's, Piercs-Arrows, Rolls Royce, or what have you.

As for durability and…

The one and only steam streamliner of the Czechoslovak State Railways (ČSD) made its first appearance in 1936:

Probably it had a nickname but the archives know it only by its serial number: 386.001. And this number is a bit confusing: built in 1927 at Škoda works in Plzen (also known as Pilsen, the birthplace of Golden Lager) it initially belonged to 386 class, for some…

This mosaic, so full of joy and the "future-we-were-promised" spirit was created in 1942 for one of the Moscow subway stations.

Skies underground. This paradox can inspire a lot of philosophical ramblings, but philosophy is definitely not the point here. Today, the Saturday Air Mail is happy to present the aviation art of Alexander Deineka (1899 -…

A small British car, built postwar -  not the most advanced design but very characteristic of the period.

Jowett Jupiter sports cars were built from 1950 to 1954 all of which were powered by a Jowett-designed 1486cc flat four pushrod engine of 60-62BHP in standard form. Most Jupiters constructed were the aluminium-bodied Mk1 (731) and the Mk1a (94). A…

This Thursday, to celebrate our founder's birthday together with the French national holiday - a stylish fighter:

The Morane-Saulnier Type N, not the most successful WWI warplane (you can read about it here), this aircraft with a racing pedigree is an ultimate example of early…

For more than two years, we all but ignored an event of tremendous significance. It's time to mend our ways.

A quote from The Art Deco Exposition by Arthur Chandler: "The Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes was supposed to bring together the…

This proud member of the Burlington family is a class of its own.

We can call it a nephew of the famous Pioneer Zephyr and the big brother (or rather an uncle) of another celebrity, the Silver Pilot. Built two…

Want to travel in style? No problem! Take an Empire Class flying boat!

Actually, "flying boat" is a clear understatement: the Empires, built by Short Brothers for Imperial Airways, were a class of flying luxury liners. They carry a crew of five, 17 passengers, and 4,480 lb (2,035 kg) of cargo at a maximum…

Introduced in 1922, it was a true Futurist automobile:

The Lambda was one of the most innovative cars of the twenties with its chassis, independent suspension and compact engine. It was the first to feature a load-bearing monocoque body which adopted by almost every manufacturer thirty years later. Vincenzo Lancia personally envisioned the Lambda after considering ship design and the strength that a hull needs to battle the great seas.…

Everybody knows who was America's WWI Ace Number One. But can you name Number Two?

Meet Capt. Gillet aka Gillet 'Razors'!

Born Francis Warrington Gillet, he was a student at the University of Virginia when he joined the U.S. Air Service on April 1, 1917. Like many, he did not adjust to…

The first French full-streamlined locomotive had something in common with Alexandre Dumas' character:

In 1935 such locomotives entered service of the Paris à Lyon et à la Méditerranée Railway (PLM), the pioneers of French streamlining. The locos were not new. In 1934, when the decision to establish fast streamliner service had been taken, the management's choice were already retired…

"The changing perspectives of flight constitute an absolutely new reality that has nothing in common with the reality traditionally constituted by a terrestrial perspective.

"Painting from this new reality requires a profound contempt for detail and a need to synthesise and transfigure everything. "

These were two quotes from a 1929 Futurist manifesto,…

Steam tractors, steam wagons, steam omnibuses, steam rollers... An endless source of inspiration.

Here's a collection of these glorious machines, alive and kicking, attending Steam Weeks, rallies and other events, brought to us by Damian Sharples aka day 192 @ Flickr:…